Imiatations and Chocolate Cake

I like chocolate cake. No! I LOVE chocolate Cake. In fact, at times, I think I'd even marry it, if I wasn't already married. Last weekend Jennifer's Aunt probably made the best chocolate cake I have had in a very long time. And it was the simple recipe that is on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box. A recipe that probably goes ignored most of the time because it's old and there are probably a lot more "newer and better" recipes out there.

"Oh my gosh!" followed first bite and then lead quickly to each sequential bite until the cake was completely consumed! So fast, in fact, that my pallet quickly forgot how tasty the cake was and I found myself with another small slice. This time, wanting to savor the piece I let each bite slowly breakdown in my mouth enjoying the full flavor of this amazing chocolate cake.

MAN IT WAS GOOD! In fact I want some right now. So if you read this and you want to make me that Hershey's Cocoa chocolate cake, I would be okay with that.

The second book in the Foundations of Faith that I'm reading is like that cake....minus the chocolate. It's a delicious older book that some may not have even heard of or thought about reading because the industry is flooded with "the hip and new" written by some the "hip and cool.Imitation of Christ is a tasty little book written by Thomas a' Kempis. The man spent is his life as a simple German Monk, during his time he is said to have copied the bible cover to cover no less than 4 times. That doesn't count how many time's he just probably read it cover to cover without copying it. Every letter of God's Word was probably fixed to every each within his body. Honestly I had passed up reading this book a year ago. It was a much older version and the language and wording was hard to read. I was able to comprehend some of what I was reading, but was too caught up in trying to translate it in modern terms. So I put it back on my shelf to try to read when I'm "older and wiser."

The Foundations copy is much much easier to swallow. With short chapters containing mind blowing simple steps of faith, I found myself devouring the book. I left each page black and blue with underlined phrases. A little over half way through I realized I couldn't remember "how it tasted" even though I had left tracks to go back over later. I started over, this time slower and thinking more how this applies to me and what can I do to implement this. So much of it, even though it was written in 1400's, speaks a word that all need to hear, from individual believers, to politicians pulling the religious rank, pastors caught up in success, and churches battling over tradition and relevance.

Thomas' opening quote sets the tone for the following pages.

"HE WHO follows me, walks not in darkness, says the Lord. (John 8:12) By theses words of Christ we are advised to imitate His life and habits, if we wish to be truly enlightened and free from all blindness of heart. Let our chief effort, therefore, be to study the life of Christ."

In regards to the current political climate that our country and the entire world is caught up in Most of which is a bit embarrassing and frustrating at times I believe Thomas would say to both Christian voters and the Candidates themselves.

"If men used as much care in uprooting vices and implanting virtues as they do in discussing problems there would be not be so much evil and scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations. On the day of judgment, surely we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived.

If you want something to compliment the bible...a little something extra. Thomas Kemp is is a great companion to the bible